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BERLIN (Reuters) -- General Motors Co.'s Europe head Carl-Peter Forster expects massive cuts at Opel after GM decided to hold on to the European carmaker.

"We had negotiated a good restructuring plan which was ready and on the table," Forster was quoted as saying in German daily newspaper Bild in an advance copy of an interview to be published on Thursday.

"Now there is a danger that the sensible distribution of the burden we had agreed will unravel and the process will start all over again. One thing is certain: even with this solution, there will be massive cuts," he was quoted as saying.

But John Smith, GM's group vice president of corporate planning and alliances, said GM's restructuring plan for Opel will be similar to the plan Canadian supplier Magna International Inc. had for the company.

Under Magna's plan, Opel's work force would have been cut by a fifth, from the current 50,000. Smith hinted that under GM there would also be about 10,000 jobs cuts.

GM will present its restructuring plan for Opel “very soon,” Smith said during a conference call with journalists on Wednesday.

He said the basis for the new plan is GM's European viability plan, which it outlined in the first quarter. GM estimates the cost of its restructuring plan to be about 3 billion euros, or about $4.43 billion

Forster 'surprised'

Forster said he had been surprised by GM's decision not to sell Opel, as previously agreed, and that negotiations with GM should start as soon as possible.

"I do not think the process was in any way OK," Forster told reporters at an event in Berlin, adding he hoped a solution would be found that would take account of Opel workers' jobs.

The surprise decision by GM to keep Opel rather than sell it to a consortium led by Magna shocked the German government which had lobbied for a sale.

Forster, who is also Opel's chairman, had been considered a top candidate to run Opel for Magna. When asked about his future at an industry conference on Tuesday, Forster said that remains an open question.